Aid to making holes

ABSTRACT

An aid to making holes for the purpose of puncturing of parts of the body, comprising a hole-maker capable of being guided by a guide component. A hole-maker is connected to an articulated link with a to-and-fro pliable effect attached to the guide component. The simple function and manufacture of the aid in question are achieved thanks to the present invention.

The present invention relates to an aid to making holes for the purposeof puncturing of parts of the body, and comprises a hole-maker capableof being guided by a guide component.

Previously disclosed aids of the aforementioned kind, for example thearrangement in accordance with SE, B, 8003057-0 (Publ. No. 422 150), donot permit a safe and simple function in line with current requirements.

The principal object of the present invention is thus, in the firstplace, to make available an aid to making holes in parts of the body,which solves said problem by simple means with regard both to themanufacture and use of the aid.

Said object is achieved by means of an aid in accordance with thepresent invention, which is characterized essentially in that thehole-maker is connected to a pliable link capable of to-and-fro movementattached to the guide component.

The invention is described below as a preferred illustrative embodimentwith reference to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a side-view of an aid to making holes in the position ofrest;

FIG. 2 shows an aid to making holes in the penetration position;

FIG. 3 shows said aid to making holes after making a hole;

FIG. 4 shows a cross-section through an aid to making holes in theposition of rest;

FIG. 5 shows a front view of the aid to making holes;

FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of the aid in the position of rest;

FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of the aid in the position of rest,viewed from below; and

FIG. 8 shows the aid, viewed from below and in the penetration position.

An aid to making holes 1 arranged in accordance with the presentinvention, comprising a hole-maker 2 which is guided by a guidecomponent 3 so as to permit the puncturing of parts of the body, forexample when pricking a finger 4 in conjunction with taking a bloodsample, etc., has the hole-maker 2 attached to the guide component 3 viaa link 5. Said link, which can be in the form of a number of pivotallyarranged arms 6, 7, is pliably connected to the guide component 3 in amanner capable of to-and-fro movement in the direction of the arrows 8,9, against the effect of an influencing force which acts contrary to thedirections referred to above.

Said arms 6, 7 are preferably arranged in pairs, or in some otherdesired number, with each being supported on a correspondingcounter-pressure component 10, 11 attached to the guide component 3 ofthe hole-maker and preferably projecting laterally outwards from saidpreferably sleeve-shaped guide component 3 of the hole-maker.

For example, said counter-pressure components may be in the form ofso-called counter-pressure arms 10, 11, which are appropriatelyintegrated with the sleeve-shaped guide component 3 of the hole-maker atits rear end 3A, viewed in the direction of use 8, i.e. the direction ofpenetration, or are attached in some other appropriate fashion to saidcomponent 3. A hinge 12, 13 is arranged so that it is supportedpreferably at the outer ends 10A, 11A of each of said counter-pressurearms 10, 11. Connected to each hinge 12, 13 is one of said articulatedconnecting arms 6, 7, which runs in a lateral sense across the directionof use 8 of the aid inwards towards a compression component 15 situatedpreferably centrally at the middle 14 of the aid. Said compressioncomponent may appropriately be in the form of a thumb-pressure pad 15,which is integrated with said articulated connecting arm/arms 6,7 andwhich consists preferably of the rear end of a casing body 16 for thehole-maker 2 situated centrally on the aid 1 in question.

Said hole-maker 2 may, as can be appreciated from the example shownhere, consist of different materials, in conjunction with which the body16 itself may be made of extruded plastic, for example, whereas theactual tip may be in the form of a metal needle 17, which is fixed tothe body 16 by its rear end 17A. By positioning the needle 17, it ispossible to ensure its location in precisely the desired position, sothat the correct depth by which the needle projects can be guaranteed inevery case. The needle is thus not able to penetrate too deeply into afinger, for example, which has been one of the disadvantages ofpreviously disclosed hole-makers.

Otherwise the hole-making aid 1 also consists of a plastic material,although the use of other materials, such as metallic materials, forexample, may be considered.

Thanks to the characteristics of the material, the articulatedconnecting arms 6, 7 and the counter-pressure arms 10, 11 can be soarranged as to exhibit a spring action in relation to one another, sothat the articulated connecting arms 6, 7 are caused to spring back inthe direction of the arrow 9, after having been pushed down in thedirection of the arrow 8, once the thumb has been pressed against thethumb-pressure pad 15. The hinges 12. 13 can also be arranged withspring action in a similar way to that described above, so as to causethe connecting arms 6, 7 to spring back after these have been pusheddown with a certain force F, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 in the drawings.

The connecting arms 6, 7 and the counter-pressure arms 10, 11 can beattached to one another via hinges 12, 13 with the pressure pad 15 andthe guide component 3 between them, so that an acute angle X is formedat each hinge 12, 13 between the arms 6-7; 10-11, viewed from the sidelooking at the aid 1, when the aid 1 is held with its hole-maker 2 inthe retracted position of rest V ready for making holes, like a rhombusor the arms of a manually operated jack. In the so-called penetrationposition S, as illustrated in the drawings in FIG. 2, the arms 6, 7 aremoved against spring pressure inwards towards the arms 10, 11 until theycome close to one another in pairs 6, 10; 7, 11 after the pressure pad15 has been caused by a thumb to press the hole-maker 2, preferablyexhibiting cylindrical cross-section, with a certain force F into theguide sleeve 3 which, at its front end 3B, which is designed to becapable of being turned to face a finger 4 or some other intended partof the body before a hole is made therein, exhibits a flared contactcomponent 18, for example a ring, which provides support for the aidduring the hole-making operation.

In order to protect the nail 17, etc., a degradable cover 19 is arrangedon said contact component 18, so that the needle 17 cannot becontaminated before use. The effective sharp point 17 of the hole-maker,for example a needle, is so arranged as to be accommodated internallywithin the accommodating space 20 of said guide component 3 when thehole-maker is being held in the position of rest V, before or after thehole-making operation (FIG. 4 and FIG. 3). The cover 19, which canconsist of a membrane of a plastic material or similar, and which iscapable of being acted upon by the hole-maker from the inside for thepurposes of its degradation, in such a way that the sharp point 17 canbe caused to project for hole-making. A piece of plastic film may bewelded or bonded, for example, to the outside 18A of the contactcomponent 18.

After the hole-making operation the sharp point 17 is withdrawn, thanksto the spring function of the aid, back into the space 20, when thesharp point 17 is protected against contact. Any disease, such as yellowjaundice or HIV, etc., which may have been transferred from the body 4to the sharp point 17 during the hole-making operation is prevented bythe function and construction of the aid from being spread further viathe aid 1, through accidental contact with it, which is of thedisposable type, of course.

The function and construction of the aid 1 should have been appreciatedclearly from the foregoing and the drawings shown here, although it canbe stated briefly that, when the aid 1 is held against a part of thebody 4 and pressure is applied against the pressure pad 15, for examplewith the thumb, at the same time as the index finger and the middlefinger, for example, are appropriately placed against the arms 10, 11,the sharp point 17 is pushed out in the direction of the arrow 8, sothat the part of the body 4 concerned is punctured, as shown in FIG. 2in the drawings.

As the aid 1 is removed from the hole 21 which has been produced, thesharp point 17 is automatically retracted into the aid, where it is wellprotected inside the guide component 3 behind the remains of thedegraded protective membrane 19, and within the limits of the guidecomponent 3. The aid 1 is thus both simple to manufacture in hygienicmaterials and by the use of simple processes, and is easy and safe touse, including by persons who are not familiar with it. The invention isnot restricted to the illustrative embodiments described above and shownin the drawings, however, but can be modified within the scope of thePatent claims without departing from the idea of invention.

The number of arms can be varied, for example, as can their form andthat of the aid in question.

I claim:
 1. An aid for puncturing a part of a body comprising:ahole-maker movably disposed in a sleeve-shaped guide component; a pairof counter-pressure arms connected to one end of said sleeve-shapedguide component and projecting laterally and upwardly above saidsleeve-shaped guide component; said hole-maker having at one end apressure plate provided with a pair of laterally projecting articulatedarms coextensive with said counter-pressure arms and definingtherebetween hinges, a free end of the hole-maker being provided with asharp point and protectively positioned within said sleeve-shaped guidecomponent, all of said arms being flexible to permit movement of saidhole-maker to expose its sharp point out of the confines of saidsleeve-shaped guide component upon application of force on the pressurecomponent, said articulated arms and said counter-pressure armsexhibiting a spring action therebetween to withdraw said sharp pointinto said sleeve-shaped guide component upon removal of said force, thearticulated arms and the counter-pressure arms are connected to oneanother and to the pressure plate and to the guide component in such away that all of the arms form acute angles between themselves at eachhinge when the aid is held with its hole-maker in the retracted positionof rest ready for making holes.
 2. An aid to making holes in accordancewith claim 1, in which the point of the hole-maker preferably consistsof a metal material while the rest of the aid consists of plasticmaterial, characterized in that said guide component sleeve is designedto accommodate and guide the hole-maker at the other end which iscapable of being turned to face an object in which it is intended tomake a hole, said guide component sleeve having a contact component. 3.An aid to making holes in accordance with claim 1, characterized in thatthe sharp point of the hole-maker is so arranged as to be accommodatedinternally within said guide component sleeve when the hole-maker isbeing held in the position of rest.
 4. An aid to making holes inaccordance with claim 1, in which the sharp point preferably consists ofa metal material while the rest of the aid consists of plastic material,characterized in that a guide component sleeve is designed toaccommodate and guide the hole-maker at its end which is capable ofbeing turned to face an object in which it is intended to make a holeexhibits a contact component.
 5. An aid to making holes in accordancewith claim 1, characterized in that the aid to making holes exhibits ona front face a degradable protective cover capable of being acted uponby the hole-maker, in conjunction with which the cover consists of amembrane.
 6. An aid for puncturing a part of a body comprising:ahole-maker movably disposed in a sleeve-shaped guide component; a pairof counter-pressure arms connected to one end of said sleeve-shapedguide component and projecting laterally and upwardly above saidsleeve-shaped guide component; said hole-maker having at one end apressure plate provided with a pair of laterally projecting articulatedarms coextensive with said counter-pressure arms and definingtherebetween hinges, a free ned of the hole-maker being provided with asharp point and protectively positioned within said sleeve-shaped guidecomponent, all of said arms being flexible to permit movement of saidhole-maker to expose its sharp point out of the confines of saidsleeve-shaped guide component upon application of force on the pressurecomponent, said articulated arms and said counter-pressure armsexhibiting a spring action therebetween to withdraw said sharp pointinto said sleeve-shaped guide component upon removal of said force; anda degradable protective cover disposed on a font face of the aid forpuncturing a part of a body wherein the degradable protective cover iscapable of being acted upon by the hole-maker, in conjunction with whichthe cover consists of a membrane.
 7. An aid for puncturing a part of abody comprising:a hole-maker movably disposed in a sleeve-shaped guidecomponent; a pair of counter-pressure arms connected to one end of saidsleeve-shaped guide component and projecting laterally and upwardlyabove said sleeve-shaped guide component; said hole-maker having at oneend a pressure plate provided with a pair of laterally projectingarticulated arms coextensive with said counter-pressure arms anddefining therebetween hinges, a free ned of the hole-maker beingprovided with a sharp point and protectively positioned within saidsleeve-shaped guide component, all of said arms being flexible to permitmovement of said hole-maker to expose its sharp point out of theconfines of said sleeve-shaped guide component upon application of forceon the pressure component, said articulated arms and saidcounter-pressure arms exhibiting a spring action therebetween towithdraw said sharp point into said sleeve-shaped guide component uponremoval of said force; and a degradable protective cover disposed on asecond end of said guide component sleeve wherein the degradableprotective cover is capable of being acted upon by the hole-maker, inconjunction with which the cover consists of a membrane.